Beside the Dying Fire
by Sinbreaker
Summary: You have all heard the stories of great Warriors, some good and some evil. And those evil cats all grow up to be the strongest Warriors and Leaders of them all! but what about the others? What about an Apprentice? Meet Firepaw. The Apprentice, that could even take on leaders, and wanted nothing more than to be loved... And to kill the weak...
1. Fire and Day

On the morning ray of sunlight, a cat emerged from his den. His golden pelt rippled like waves in the gentle wind. His kind amber eyes searched over the clan he had worked so hard to bring back together, after… _The Dark Days…_

He shivered over the memory. And how he was forced to break the most important rule, but for the right reason. And yet, it still felt wrong to him. But he pushed the thought away, and walked into the clearing. The elders den, hidden among the roots of an old tree was currently empty. For he had no elders. All had been lost during The Dark Days.

He looked to the Queens den, which was a fallen hallow log, filled with the finest and softest moss in the woods the clan could find. The clan currently had two Queens. Longwillow and Greypelt. He decided to check on them first, before he tended to the rest of the clan.

Peaking inside the den, he saw two she-cats, sleeping close together. One, a smoky grey with a silver tipped tail and a skinny ginger she-cat, with small black paws. He stared at Longwillow, the ginger she-cat and felt sorry for her. Her mate, Stormfire was lost during The Dark Days, and now she was left alone, no kin left as well… except, if these kits survive, she will have some family. Not that the clan is not consider her family. But actual kin, her blood line running through other cats.

He turned away, and then padded over back to his den, when a sudden movement from the left side of the camp made him turn his head, and watch a slender white cat moved through the holly leaves covering the Medicine Den. She smiled at him, and quickly made her way over to him.

"Greetings, Yellowstar." The white she-cat, Snowfeather said and nodded to him. He returned the nod and said "And the same to you Snowfeather."

Her smile faded and then said "Sir, last night I received a message from Starclan. I think it may be a prophecy." The tone in her voice made Yellowstar worry, and he nodded and said "Let's talk inside my den." Snowfeather nodded, and then followed her leader into the dark old rabbit hole under a large stone platform.

Inside the den was cool, and dark. But there was enough light for both of the cats to see clearly. Yellowstar sat down on his bed of moss. He looked to this Medicine cat and his trusted friend and asked "Now, what happened?"

"Last night when I fell asleep, I dreamt that I was walking through a field of wheat, the one that surrounds our patch of woodland, but the wheat was on fire, yet the fire did not burn. Nor was it hot. It was dark out, and even with the light of the fire I could not see clearly. But I heard cries, death cries of many cats."

"Death cries?" Yellowstar echoed Snowfeather's words and then asked in a hushed tone "Did you recognize any from this clan?"

Snowfeather shook her head no and said "I could not, too many cries. But they were all young. And the soil was stained with blood. Paw prints lead forward, and I saw a cat. This cat had their back to me, and faced the sky. When I came to approach the cat, the sun suddenly started to come up, and the fire…oh the fire roared and…" Snowfeather trailed off, trying to calm herself.

Yellowstar felt his chest tighten. This was just no ordinary dream, it was a warning. He narrowed his eyes and asked softly "Can you continue, Snowfeather?" She slowly nodded and then took a breath.

"The fire burned away the day, and so the cat was gone with it. And I was left standing in a burning field of the wheat, now turned red from soaking up the blood and the wind whispered ever so softly to me."

"What did it say?" Yellowstar asked, feeling the fur on the back of his neck rise. Snowfeather took a breath and a moment to remember, and then she said "_Love will be burned away by the jealous flame, kin from kin will be lost, and the young fire of hate, will burn away the light of day forever…" _

Yellowstar's fur bristled with fear. Not only was the prophecy dark, and warning of something evil coming, but that the clan was known as Dayclan. Called that for how the sun always shines on the wheat, giving it a beautiful glow that cats will wake up early just to catch a glimpse. And fire will burn away the light of day… could it mean Dayclan?

"Snowfeather!"

Snowfeather and Yellowstar perked their ears, and climbed out of the den. They both watched as Greypelt hurried across the clearing, and said "It's Longwillow, her kits are coming!" Yellowstar felt Snowfeather grow tense beside him. This would be the first kits born into the clan since The Dark Days, and the clan needed this to help recover.

"Alright, I'm coming. I just need to get herbs first." Snowfeather said and rushed into her den. Moments later she came out with herbs in her mouth and ran over to the Queens den. By now the commotion has awoken the rest of the clan, and Yellowstar decided to head over the Queens den himself.

…

Yellowstar sat quietly outside the den, and waited. Moments passed, until Snowfeather emerged from the den and looked to him. She gave a gentle smile and said "Longwillow gave birth to one kit."

"Just one?" He asked her and Snowfeather nodded and stepped aside to let the leader in. He ducked his head, and entered the den. Longwillow sat curled up on her bed off moss, and gently licked a young kit who nursed by her belly. Longwillow looked up at Yellowstar and smiled.

"Want to see him, Yellowstar?" Longwillow asked noting that her first born kit was a tom. Yellowstar nodded and sat on his hunches by the ginger she-cat. She moved her long fluffy tail and revealed a small, ginger kit. His pelt, was still new, but yet was darker than his mothers. And the morning sunlight that leaked into the den shined off his small coat of fiery red fur.

"I decided to name him, Firekit." Longwillow said and Yellowstar narrowed his eyes. He bent down and sniffed the kit once. His nose gently touched the kit's side, and the kit let off and quiet and soft mew. Yellowstar blinked and drew back.

"He's already a fighter, I know it." Longwillow said and gave her kit a lick. Yellowstar nodded, trying to give his happiness out to her, but inside, his stomach twisted and turned. Was it just coincidence that this kit was named Firekit, just after he had heard of the fire and day prophecy?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and then said "Well, I'll leave you to rest Longwillow." She smiled at Yellowstar, and then laid down her head and closed her pail blue eyes. He turned, and quietly moved out of the den, and when he looked back, the sunlight hit the young kit's pelt, and seemed like for a moment, the young kit had a coat of flames. Yellowstar blinked, and the small vision was gone.

Without another word or thought about Firekit, the leader turned away, and headed back to his den.

**First Warrior Cats Story that is not about human gone she-cats. But if any of you read my other stories Fight against the Darkest Angels, or Sacrifice of the Undying Angels, this is the same Firepaw. The one you all know and love. **

**Dayclan is a clan across the ocean from the original clans. The other clans are known as Nightclan, Neverclan(Something like Bloodclan) Oceanclan and Stoneclan. You will learn about them later and such…**


	2. Adventure into Camp

"Let's see the clan now." Longwillow said softly as she nudged her only kit to the entrance of the den. The young kit looked out, overwhelmed by the first sights of the clan. To him, seeing the clan was like a Warrior seeing Starclan. Breathtaking.

"I don't want to." The young kit, Firekit said softly backing into the den. Longwillow leaned down and pushed her son out into the open and said "Explore Firekit. This is your home. Just don't leave the camp." Firekit nodded, feeling nervous about the world around him.

Just as he made it out to the middle of the clearing, four apprentices darted by, almost trampling Firekit. He squeaked and blindly ran the other way, tripping over his paws and stumbling forward. He hit the dirt and slid forward, landing at the paws of a cat.

His eyes slowly looked up, afraid of whom he might find. Above him sat a light brown tabby. She glared down at him. And, one couldn't really say glaring. One of her eyes, he left was scared up, leaving ugly scars, and a tiny part were one could see her eye; all they saw was blood red. Firekit bristled and tumbled over.

"Don't hurt me!" He cried trying to spin around and run. The cat chuckled and wrapped her tail around the young kit and said "I would never hurt a kit; you must be Firekit, correct?" Firekit nodded, still shaking in fear. The cat leaned down and gave his head fur a lick, pushing the ragged fur down.

"I am Thornwhisker." She said softly and then she added "I am sorry to have scared you young kit." She sat down on her hunches and tapped her scared eye with her tail and said "I got this fighting for my clan during the Dark Days."

"What's that?" Firekit asked and Thornwhisker sighed and said "The Dark Days is when the clans were forced under one rule of an evil cat. All the cats against his rule, fled in the night, to a clan called Neverclan. The only clan that had been strong enough to hold off his forces. In the end, we gathered together, cats from Neverclan, and the refugees, together we fought the followers of the evil leader and in the end we won. The clans separated back into the four, including Neverclan. And here we are today!"

Firekit bounced around her saying "Whoa! I want to be a great Warrior for our clan!" Thornwhisker chuckled and said "Before you become a Warrior you got to be an Apprentice."

"An Apprentice? What's that?" Firekit asked and before Thornwhisker could answer, a tall muscular black cat with yellow eyes ruefully shoved past Thornwhisker, and nearly knocked over Firekit if Thornwhisker didn't lift her paw, making the cat stumble a bit.

"Hey watch it!" He growled and then turned away without waiting for a reply. Thornwhisker rolled her eyes and said "That's Shadowleap. He thinks he is a big shot since his father is the leader of the clan."

"I don't like him." Firekit said and Thornwhisker sighed and said "Same here. You should go find your mother. I think she might be worried about you."

"Alright." Firekit said and started to scamper away, but he paused and looked back and said "Can I come over tomorrow? You're very nice!" Thornwhisker nodded and said "Sure." Firekit smiled and yelled "By Thornwhisker." He then raced across camp, fast as he could until he reached the fallen log. He started to head inside, but he heard voices, and paused by the entrance.

Inside was his mother, Longwillow. But next to her was a cat, they were sharing prey. After e moment, Firekit recognized the cat sitting with his mother, it was Shadowleap.

"Hello Firekit." Greypelt said as she walked by. Longwillow looked up from her prey and asked "Are you done playing?" Firekit nodded and walked back into the den and settled by his mother's belly, hidden from Shadowleap's view. The dark tom suddenly stood up and said "I'm leading the night patrol. I have to go and get ready."

"Alright, see you again soon!" Longwillow called as Shadowleap walked out of the den. After a moment, Longwillow turned to Firekit and asked "So did you meet the apprentices?" Firekit shook his head no and said "No, but I met a nice Warrior! Thornwhisker!" Longwillow nodded and said "That's nice." Firekit noted that his mother wasn't really paying attention to him. Instead she lay down and started to sleep, yet he himself was still wide awake.

Still, he curled up to his mother, and just lay there, thinking about all he had learned that day. And he knew, he had not yet even began his time in the clan.

"Mama." Firekit said and Longwillow let out a mix of a meow and a "What?"

"I'm going to be the strongest Warrior in the clan!" Firekit mewed and his mother nodded and said "I know you will…" her voice trailed off as she fell asleep. Firekit smiled and then snuggled up to his mother, and hoping for another adventure tomorrow.


	3. Outside

With dawn approaching, Firekit awoke early. Even before his mother or the other Queen resting in the den. The warm air drifted into the den, and Firekit smiled. Today, he decided. Today he was going to go see the territory!

Without disturbing his mother, Firekit rose from his placed beside her belly and carefully climbed out of the moss nest. With a look around to see he had not awakened anyone, he turned and dashed out of the den with quiet paws. The camp was empty, that alone excited him. The absence of his clan mates, made him feel not exactly fear, but a bit… well… he was unsure. The feeling was new to him.

But without much more thought, he raised his tail high above him and darted across the clearing, tripping on his own paws once or twice. His flame colored pelt shimmered and blew in the gentle breeze, and his whiskers twitched when reaching the entrance to camp. Two bushes tightly grown together, concealing more bushes behind it. But generations upon generations of careful cutting and snapping of branches had opened up into a tunnel.

Firekit slowly walked into it, and found that the bushes lead off in many different paths. He had overheard one of the Warriors talking about how they lead out to passages all over the territory. Not sure which one should be taken, Firekit selected at random and turned down a path at his left. The bushes were covered in thorns, protecting the clan well from an invasion from the front of camp. Firekit could tell this much, but he was unsure of the rest of the territory. For now at least.

The current path he followed ended up meeting many forks and crossroads. Firekit actually liked this though, made him feel like he was one step closer every time to discovering something worth wild!

The path branched off into an opened area, and another tunnel. Firekit looked at the tunnel, and then decided to go out into the open. The rays of dawn lit up the clearing before him, and he could see turfs of fur here and there and the trees scratched up. Maybe this is where they practice to become Warriors! He though, and then walked towards the open area. Even before he reached outside he sniffed the air and new, sweet and sour scents came to him. Even a bit of cat. And all around him, he could smell Dayclan. For a swift moment, he thought he scented Thornwhisker, but the scent faded away from him, but a voice became clear.

"They will still be asleep by now." A voice said softly and another one asked "But… there Dayclan… Day! Wouldn't they be up by now?" A younger male voice asked and then, a slightly older female voice hissed and Firekit saw ferns shake. The female voice who hissed then said with a growl "There known as Dayclan because all they do is eat field mice and lay around in the sun! A bunch of Kittypets is what they are! Lazy and fat!" Firekit felt himself burning inside.

How dare they? He yelled inside himself. Dayclan was the best clan of them all! It was his clan! The clan of the sun! The strongest clan! Who were these cats anyway?...

Firekit stepped forward a bit, but the voice from earlier made him stop moving. "Hey, wait I smell a cat."

"I'll check it out." The female voice who had called his clan "Kittypets" for whatever that meant, said to the other and then added "You two can return to the Main Attack Patrol. I'll be fine." Main Attack Patrol? Firekit wondered and then slowly realized Dayclan was going to be attacked. He didn't try to be quiet; he just turned and bolted into the tunnel.

"Hey!" A voice behind him yelled and he let out a startled squeak. A cat suddenly launched themselves into the tunnel, and to Firekit's dismay, they were much bigger than him. This told him to run faster, get back to camp.

But he realized when he reached the first crossroad, and passed it that he didn't know where to go. And the cat behind him was closing in, faster and faster. Suddenly, Firekit stumbled over his own paws and fell forward. The sudden crash made him land in a mixture of branches, leaves and thistles, all holding him places as he struggled to get up. The cat reached him.

"Hold still!" The cat hissed and a paw pushed Firekit down to the ground. He let out a wail of fear, only to have the cat on him hiss close to his ear "Quiet!" Firekit froze with fear, a sour smell came from their breath, he didn't know yet, but it was the smell of blood. The cat, keeping him down with their paw, used their other paw and teeth to untangle him from the mess of plant life.

"There, you're out." The cat said, stepping back from Firekit.

"Who are you?" He yelled scared, puffing out his fur and bunching into a tight ball. He looked up at the cat. The gat had long, well groomed fur, grey as stone. They had broad shoulders and he could see strong mussels. Her chest was large, which meant she could breathe well and run for a long time if needed. Although her muzzle seemed a little long for a cat, and her fangs looked sharper. Her eyes were mismatched color. One amber and the other green. She scared Firekit, and she smiled at knowing this.

"I'm Twisterpaw, apprentice of Neverclan." She said lifting her head, her one shredded ear twitching as it brushed the top of the roof. Firekit swallowed his fear and spoke softly "You… look a little big to be an apprentice." Twisterpaw narrowed her eyes and said "Ah yes, well there is an interesting story to that. Maybe you will live to hear it one day." She sneered and brought her face close to his, causing him to duck down. She laughed and then started to turn away.

"Don't leave that spot until dark falls. Otherwise I will rip you to shreds." She said, and as much as Firekit was convinced she would, she pressed on and said "I'll line my nest with your pelt, clean my teeth and claws with your bones and…. As for the rest of you." She licked her lips like she spotted a juicy piece of prey, and then with a swift motion she vanished into the ongoing tunnel, leaving Firekit frightened and to himself.

**:D Updated this story finally! As I listed the clans in the first chapter, I decided to change Stoneclan to Lightningclan. =3=~ Reasons why later to come. And if you guys are my hardcore fans, you should be able to recognize the Neverclan apprentice feature here in this story. Oh what a twist of fate~ **


End file.
